HIGH RENAISSANCE

AND
EARLY MANNERISM
1494-1564

High Renaissance
1494-1520
Classical principles of beauty, balance, order,
serenity, harmony, & rational design reached
a zenith of perfection
Cultural center shifted from Florence to Rome
as popes became the leading patrons
Alexander VI, Pius III, Julius II, Leo X

Humanistic values of Classicism would prevail

Politics
France, England, & Spain emerged as powerful
sovereign states
France & Spain would dominate European
international political life
Balance of Power would become a key concept
among nations as it had among the Italian City States
Sovereign monarchs gained power, both by divine
right, and by practical policies.
Rulers centralized power, with bureaucracies
extending jurisdiction into outlying areas.

Charles V with a Dog

By Titian

 1494- French invasion of Italy as precursor to

35 years of warfare among France, Spain, Holy
Roman Empire, Italian City-States, and papacy.
1527 Rome was sacked by HRE under
Charles V
Raised doubts about Roman control of Italy
Ended arts patronage by popes for a decade

1529 - Treaty of Cambrai ended war between

Hapsburgs & Valois
Only Venice maintained independence, and
became haven for artists & intellectuals.

Holy Roman Empire,

ca 1200 AD

POPULATION CHANGES
Movement from rural to urban life
There was an increasing prosperity, but prices
rose faster than wages
European population increased
1400, 45 million
1500, 69 million
1600, 89 million

Early Mannerism
1520-1564
Antihumanistic visions of the world would
dominate
Anticlassical
notable for elongated forms, precariously
balanced poses, a collapsed perspective, &
irrational settings

ART
Painters
Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Raphael (Raffaello) Santi
Titian (Tiziano Vecelli)
Parmigianino
Sculptor
Michelangelo
Architecture
Donato Bramante
Michelangelo
Palladio (Andrea di Pietro)

 Literature
Machiavelli, Niccol
Castiglione, Baldassare
Gaspara Stampa

Music
Willaert, Adrian

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

The Last Supper restored

Mona Lisa
by Leonardo
da Vinci

The Last Judgement (Sistine Chapel)

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

The School of Athens by Raphael

Sistine Madonna
by Raphael
Balanced pairings of drapes,
two figures kneel in prayer, two
putti (pudgy human male
babies, with wings)
The figures and drapes help to
frame the Madonna and Child.
This is a very balanced
composition.

Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple by Titian

Madonna with
the Long Neck
by
Parmigianino
Mixes imagery of pieta along
with Virgin holding baby.
Sloping shoulders and almost
transparent gown like Botticelli

Dying
Slave
M
I
C
H
E
L
A
N
G
E
L
O

David

DAVID

NAPOLEAN

Piet
by
Michelangelo

Piet in Florence,a
work in progress
when Michelangelo
died.

Tempietto
[little temple]
in Rome.
Designed by
Bramante
Note the
balustrade or
circular rail with
support posts

Bramante
rejected the
scenographic
building style in
which buildings
were composed
of discrete,
individual units.

Dome of St. Peters

Basilica in Vatican City
Michelangelo used double
Corinthian columns (supports) ,
pilasters, and ribs

Villa Capra (Villa Rotonda) in Vicenza, by Palladio

Niccol
Machiavelli
1469-1527
Political writer,
concentrated on human
weaknesses
Dumped religious and
moral rules in writing The
Prince
Began modern search for
a science of politics

Baldassare Castiglione
Author of The

Courtier

Intended for Italian court

society
Composed as a dialogue
Takes place over four
evenings
Became the bible for
courteous behavior in
Europe
Social relations
between sexes based on
Platonic love
Women to be the
educated equals of men

Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael

Gaspara Stampa
1524-1554
Wrote using the Petrarchan
sonnet to explore love
Asserted the moral worth of
the suffering lover
Portrayed the abandoned lover
as superior the unresponsive
loved one

Petrarchan Sonnet
Sonnet= 14 line poem in
iambic pentameter
The octave (1st eight
lines) will have the
following rhyme scheme
abbaabba
The sestet may be in any
of the following
cdcdcd
cddcdc
cdecde
cdeced
cdcedc
CDDECE in this example

"London, 1802"
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart;
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
Wordsworth

Adrian Willaert
Flemish musician (1490-1562)
Chapel master at Cathedral of
St. Marks in Venice
Founder of Venetian school of
music
Wrote music for two choirs
and two organs, blending the
two
Also composed pieces for
organ, independent of vocals
During this period, a there was the development of consorts,
families of instruments ranging in range from low bass to
high treble. Typically were viols or recorders. Forerunner of
mixed instrumental ensembles and later orchestras.